Center for Collaborative Education
Center for Collaborative Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1994 that designs community-school partnership programs and apprenticeship-based career pathways (Educator, Public Service, STEM) for K-12 schools, community colleges, and communities, primarily in Boston and Los Angeles.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Center for Collaborative Education does
Center for Collaborative Education (CCE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in September 1994 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with a regional hub in Los Angeles. CCE's core function is to operate as an educational intermediary that designs and delivers programs connecting K-12 schools, community colleges, communities, and industry partners around student success, educator pipeline development, and community-school reciprocity. Its service portfolio is organized around the Powered Up Approach, a community- and school-driven methodology integrating academic, personal, social-emotional, and societal pillars; the Measures That Matter framework for community-defined outcome indicators; the Reciprocity initiative for school-community partnerships; and three career pathway programs (Educator, Public Service, STEM) supported by pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship structures. The organization's core digital product is Third Space, a youth-facing engagement application intended to surface insights on belonging, persistence, and success.
CCE generates revenue through three primary streams: federal and foundation grants (including the U.S. Department of Labor's Apprenticeship Building America program, a federal SEED grant, and support from the Boston Foundation), individual and organizational donations, and fee-for-service professional development, facilitation, and consulting engagements with schools and districts. Programs are delivered through direct partnerships with school districts (a long-standing relationship with Boston Public Schools spans 32 autonomous schools enrolling approximately 25% of BPS students), community colleges (Rio Hondo, El Camino, Cerritos under the CPTP program), research institutions (MIT, Caltech, NASA JPL, SETI Institute, Woods Hole, USC), and state agencies (Massachusetts DESE; California DAS for apprenticeship registration). CCE's distribution relies on co-delivery with partner organizations rather than direct product sales, and it employs 11-50 staff across the Boston and Los Angeles offices.
Center for Collaborative Education firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Center for Collaborative Education
- Legal name
- Center for Collaborative Education
- Website
- https://cce.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Center for Collaborative Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1994 that designs community-school partnership programs and apprenticeship-based career pathways (Educator, Public Service, STEM) for K-12 schools, community colleges, and communities, primarily in Boston and Los Angeles.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Center for Collaborative Education industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (61171), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Junior Colleges (61121)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)
Keywords
Where Center for Collaborative Education is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Center for Collaborative Education business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Grants and Funded Programs: CCE operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that generates revenue primarily through grants from government agencies (U.S. Department of Labor, federal SEED grant, Apprenticeship Building America program) and foundations (Boston Foundation). These grants fund specific programs like educator pathways, apprenticeships, and community-school initiatives.
- Donations: Individual and organizational donations fuel mission expansion, enabling pathway development, engagement tools, and community work nationwide.
- Professional Services: CCE provides fee-for-service professional development, facilitation, leadership coaching, and consulting to schools and districts seeking to implement community-school collaboration models.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
Center for Collaborative Education product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Center for Collaborative Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works with K-12 schools, school districts, and community colleges to redesign education through community-school partnerships, equity-focused school improvement, and career pathway programs. It sells consulting, professional development, and program design services to public education institutions rather than packaged commercial products.
Product overview
CCE offers a portfolio of educational services organized around collaborative community-school partnerships. The core digital product is Third Space, a digital engagement app that connects youth with stakeholders. The Powered Up Approach serves as the overarching methodology, integrated across all programs, while Measures That Matter provides the assessment framework. Service offerings include Community & School Leadership, Reciprocity, Pre-Apprentice & Registered Apprenticeships, and three career pathways (Educator, Public Service, and STEM). The Educator Pathway includes three interconnected strands (Teaching Exploration, Pre-Apprenticeship, and Apprenticeship) and is supported by the Community Mentoring Network. CCE operates primarily as a service-based organization focused on workforce development and educational reform rather than a traditional software platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Third Space: A digital engagement app that makes young people the heroes of their journey. The app connects youth with stakeholders and provides actionable insights to support belonging, persistence, and success.
- Powered Up Approach
- Measures That Matter
Products and services
- Community-School Partnership Consulting Consulting and program design services that help K-12 schools and districts build community-school models integrating academics, family engagement, and community resources. Targeted at public school districts and charter school networks.
- Equity-Focused School Improvement Services Professional development, coaching, and improvement services aimed at advancing equity in student outcomes for schools and districts. Targeted at school and district leaders pursuing equity-centered reform.
- Career Pathway Program Design Program design and partnership services connecting K-12 schools to community colleges and career-connected learning opportunities. Targeted at districts, community colleges, and post-secondary institutions.
Quantifiable outcome
- 32 autonomous schools in Boston enrolling 25% of BPS students
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Center for Collaborative Education
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Center for Collaborative Education technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature3 records
Center for Collaborative Education partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- Rio Hondo CollegecoreCPTP (Community Partnerships for Teacher Pipeline) partner providing teacher preparation pathways for 300 community college students exploring STEM Education, Special Education, and Early Childhood Education careers. Funded by federal SEED grant.
- El Camino CollegecoreCPTP partner college supporting teacher pipeline development for teachers of color through enhanced mentoring initiatives and pathway programs.
- Cerritos CollegecoreCPTP partner college supporting teacher pipeline development for teachers of color through enhanced mentoring initiatives and pathway programs.
- U.S. Department of LaborcoreFederal agency through which CCE's Teacher Apprenticeship Program (TAP) is registered. Also provides Apprenticeship Building America (ABA) grant funding for educator pathway expansion.
- California Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS)coreState agency with which CCE's Ed Pathway Pre-Apprenticeship (EPPA) and California Teacher Apprenticeship Program (CA TAP) are registered.
- Caltech (California Institute of Technology)flagshipSTEM Pathway partner providing hands-on research experiences for students in world-class scientific environments alongside scientists and engineers.
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)flagshipSTEM Pathway partner providing hands-on engineering and research experiences. CCE's Director of STEM previously spent nearly a decade at NASA JPL developing curriculum.
- SETI InstituteflagshipSTEM Pathway partner providing research experiences in astronomy and space science for students exploring STEM careers.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)flagshipSTEM Pathway partner providing research opportunities and mentorship alongside MIT scientists and engineers.
- University of Southern California (USC)flagshipSTEM Pathway partner supporting the bi-coastal program connecting students with higher education and research opportunities.
- Woods Hole Oceanographic InstituteflagshipSTEM Pathway partner providing ocean science and marine research experiences for students.
- Boston Public SchoolscoreLong-standing partner in autonomous schools development since 1994. CCE supported founding of Pilot Schools; 32 autonomous schools now enroll 25% of BPS students.
- Annenberg Institute for School Reform (NYU)corePartnership for performance assessment publications and research. Produced VUE 46 and VUE 47 issues on performance assessment as alternative to standardized testing.
- Harbor Point CommunityflagshipReciprocity Project partner in Dorchester where CCE conducts deep listening, focus groups, surveys, and established a Lifelong Learning Center for community voice.
- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)coreCCE staff member Annie Leonard serves as DESE Career Connected Learning Lead. CCE supports Massachusetts communities in designing and implementing pathway programs.
- Columbia Law SchoolminorCCE's Director of Community & School Partnerships, Richard Gray, serves as Adjunct Professor guiding students in applying legal expertise to education and community collaboration.
- National Coalition of Essential Schools (NCES)coreCCE was founded in 1994 as a regional center for NCES, providing technical assistance to Boston-area schools and launching Boston Pilot Schools in 1997.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Center for Collaborative Education competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Big Picture Learning: National nonprofit network supporting student-centered, internship-based schools — directly aligned with CCE's community-school and Personalized Learning philosophy, with deeper roots in school network design.
- National Coalition for Community Schools: Advocacy and capacity-building organization promoting the community schools model at the policy and district level. Conceptually and methodologically aligned with CCE's Powered Up Approach and Measures That Matter framework.
- City Year: Nonprofit that deploys near-peer AmeriCorps mentors into K-12 schools to improve attendance, behavior, and course performance. Operates in many of the same districts as CCE and competes for similar school partnership and AmeriCorps/Corporation for National Service funding.
- iMentor: Nonprofit pairing low-income students with college and career mentors using a structured digital platform — analogous to CCE's Third Space app approach to persistence and belonging, with a similar youth-development mission.
- Coalition of Essential Schools: Founding network of which CCE was originally a regional center; promotes similar progressive school redesign principles and serves many of the same Boston-area school leaders.
- Communities In Schools: National nonprofit that places site coordinators inside K-12 schools to integrate community resources and support at-risk students. Highly comparable to CCE's Reciprocity and Community & School Leadership offerings, with a much larger geographic footprint.
Broad incumbents
- Jobs for the Future (JFF): National nonprofit driving workforce and education transformation, with significant apprenticeship and community college pathway programs. Directly comparable to CCE's Educator Pathway and apprenticeship work but with a far broader portfolio and federal influence.
- Year Up: Workforce development nonprofit providing young adults from underserved communities with career pathways into corporate employment. Comparable to CCE's Public Service and STEM Pathways in target population and earn-while-you-learn model, at significantly larger scale.
- Teach For America: Large national teacher pipeline nonprofit placing teachers in high-need schools. Comparable to CCE's Educator Pathway in addressing teacher shortages and equity, though with a fundamentally different recruitment model.
Emerging players
- Building Excellent Schools: Nonprofit that trains and supports charter and autonomous school leaders. Compares to CCE's role supporting Boston Pilot and Innovation schools, with overlapping funder and policy networks.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Center for Collaborative Education social profiles
Digital presenceCenter for Collaborative Education financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Center for Collaborative Education leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Center for Collaborative Education funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Center for Collaborative Education M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Center for Collaborative Education
What does Center for Collaborative Education do?
Center for Collaborative Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works with K-12 schools, school districts, and community colleges to redesign education through community-school partnerships, equity-focused school improvement, and career pathway programs. It sells consulting, professional development, and program design services to public education institutions rather than packaged commercial products.
Is Center for Collaborative Education a public or private company?
Center for Collaborative Education is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Center for Collaborative Education founded?
Center for Collaborative Education was founded in 1994. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Center for Collaborative Education based?
Center for Collaborative Education is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Center for Collaborative Education make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Grants and Funded Programs are the primary driver. The others are donations and professional Services.
Who are Center for Collaborative Education's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Big Picture Learning, National Coalition for Community Schools, City Year, iMentor, Coalition of Essential Schools and Communities In Schools. Broad incumbents are Jobs for the Future (JFF), Year Up and Teach For America. Building Excellent Schools is listed as an emerging player.
Does Center for Collaborative Education have an API?
No public API is recorded for Center for Collaborative Education.
What industry is Center for Collaborative Education in?
Center for Collaborative Education's product category is Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAB, K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits. Its NAICS code is 61171 and its SIC code is 8200.